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User blog:Reaper with no name/Old Stuff 1: Essays about the Anti-Kaiju Wall and the Theme of Cooperation
If you were expecting something new here, I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. Today, I'll be compiling some of my posts essays from before Reaper's Blog 4 Thinkin' existed, and putting them here so that they'll be easier for me to find in the future should I need to link to them or something. The Original Post 76.164.122.30 wrote: What in the world made these people think it would work?!?! What was the plan if it failed, which it did! They had no desire to continue the Jaeger program for what reasons now? FUNDING?!?! When giant fucking monsters are destroying your cities, THAT'S YOUR MAJOR WORRY!?!?! FUNDING!?!? Someone, if you have more info on the script or the story if they touched on the united governments reason for this ridiculously stupid idea in the story, please tell me. I've yet to fathom what was the overall plan for this other than hope the Kaiju go "RAWR DESTRO.....oops. Seems they put up a wall here. They must not care for my company. I shall go back home then in respect of their obvious wishes. Though this indeed makes me a sad fellow. :(" Reaper Responds 134.102.131.179 wrote: I think the Wall is a symbol. It stands for the sollipcist desire to hide from the danger, as would a small kid do by closing her eyes and covering the head with arms, although it is not at all efficient. It is a self-protective reflex. So the Wall is there to show that the world is ready to die, it tries to encapsulate itself, somehow escape the unescapable danger or super-aggressive and super-powerful enemies. Like the Ancient Rome that fell to the hords of the Huns - fierce and merciless - Rome being too civilized to answer in kind. The huge robots, in contrast, are the "answer in kind" and impersonate the active (vs. passive) force, they are themselves the "Huns". There are many reasons, but this is perhaps the most insightful one. All of that said, if you're looking for a more practical reason, there were several (however incorrect they proved to be). The Jaeger program came into being because the world's desperation caused everyone to put aside their petty squabbles for the sake of survival. And for a while it worked. However, this meant the return of mankind's complacency, which led to the return of all the problems that had existed before the Kaiju. So when the Kaiju began evolving and destroying Jaegers faster than they could be built, mankind did not unite as they did before. The nations of the world had never been comfortable with the price tag on Jaegers, and were even less inclined to foot the bill when it was no longer clear that the Jaegers could work. They believed it was unsustainable, and technically they were right (the movie made a big deal out of the fact that the Kaiju were becoming more powerful and attacks more frequent; no amount of Jaegers would be able to save the world from 6 simultaneous category 5's that are replaced every 2 hours). The problem was that their alternative was even less sustainable. The logic of the anti-kaiju wall was actually fairly simple: build walls that the Kaiju can't break down (or that will at least slow them down long enough for conventional weapons to weaken them). Assuming that Kaiju can't make it through the wall alive, don't continue getting stronger, and their attacks don't keep getting more frequent, things would work out, and the wall would act as a permanent solution. Of course, all three of these assumptions proved false. The walls couldn't stop the Kaiju or defend the populace. The politicians were wrong (as they often are, especially in movies). But what choice did they have? In their minds, the Jaegers had already proven to be a failure (after all, there were more broken Jaegers than breached walls), so putting money back into it makes no more sense than continuing to build walls ("maybe that was a fluke; and even if it wasn't, it's not like we really have any other choice given that we already know Jaegers don't work"). Of course, given that they are politicians, they also make sure to try to help the rich and powerful (a class they are inevitably part of) escape the carnage. Yet another factor worth considering (as others have mentioned) is that the wall gives people hope. Some politicians may well have known the wall would fail, but continued building it anyway simply to calm the populace. If there's one thing worse than a home under attack, it's a home under attack with the occupants panicking. Was the wall a good idea to replace the Jaegers? Absolutely not. But the politicians either didn't know that, didn't care, or didn't feel that they had any other choice. Just because we know better doesn't mean they did. Reaper gets a Response to his Response 119.224.25.186 wrote: ^ ...ok... you must have really thought that through. Very good points, almost all of them. (dont want to say all incase i missread one of them :/ accidentally) So even the risk of extinction isnt enough to get people to hurry up and build more Jaegers for the sake of life? Reaper Responds to the Response to his Response Warning: Another essay ahead. Yes, and no. A common theme in fiction (for good reason; it mimics life) is for humans in large numbers to be very inefficient. Corruption, petty squabbling, honest mistakes from overworked clerks keeping track of it all; all of these things and more inhibit a group's ability to respond to external threats. On a global scale, it justs gets worse, because you have not just the clash of egos and interests, but of culture and ideology as well (not to mention that the more people, the bigger the problems). When the Jaeger program was begun, it was a unique case, where mankind saw no other option yet still had hope for a solution if they would just work together. But, as people tend to do, the world went back to its old ways after the Kaiju problem started to subside. We saw them get used to it in the movie's opening. People in fluffy Kaiju costumes were on television. Jaeger pilots gave interviews on talk shows. Battles between Jaegers and Kaiju were depicted as sporting events. But then things changed. The Jaegars and spirit of cooperation that everyone had put their faith in seemed to be failing. So instead of sticking together, they pursued isolation (which not coincidentally, led to the creation of walls; the ultimate symbol of isolation). Some people did indeed not care about the fact that the apocalypse was upon them. Others did care, but believed that the Jaegers weren't the answer, and so threw their support behind the wall in the erroneous belief that it was the better option. Some people knew what was at stake, but thought it couldn't be stopped, and therefore believed that the only thing they could do was try to keep the panic down for the short time humanity had left. Others believed that the Kaiju couldn't be stopped, but that the situation could be managed ("let them have the shorelines, we'll just retreat inland; they won't follow us there"). Still others probably believed that there might be a third option, and wanted to save their resources for that (or put their resources towards finding it). There were also those people who profited from the Kaiju (and would therefore have no desire for a permanent solution). And let's not forget those people who thought the Kaiju were the Gods expressing their displeasure at mankind's path. Is it really so hard to imagine that in such a situation, with all the factors and ideas I just described, humanity would have a hard time rising to the task of defending themselves, even if they wanted to? We see the same thing in zombie movies (and it's the main reason why the zombies tend to win). The group of panicked survivors don't know what to do. Everyone has their own egos, desires, ideologies, emotional baggage, interests, and ideas on what to do to continue surviving. Naturally, there are conflicts all over the place (and sometimes even outright betrayal). Meanwhile, right outside the barricades, the zombie horde claws at the obstacles in their way and shamble around. Even though they all behave the same way, they aren't identical. Some are black, some are white. Some are women, some are men. Some are tall, some are short, and some are missing body parts. But they are all on the same page. They all want the same thing, and they agree to work together for the greater good brains. They know that if they find a way through the barricades, the survivors will start putting holes in whichever zombies are first. And yet, they don't care. They keep searching. Even if half of them fall, the other half will make it to the prize. And if enough of them wander around long enough, they will find a way through the barricades. Which brings us to the PPDC. They are the people who refused to give up that hope, that faith in the power of cooperation. When the rest of the world decided that the word "team" should be spelled with an "I", they knew better. They brought together people from all over the world, and every one of them had the same goal: save the world. It wasn't about egos (with the notable exception of Chuck Hansen, and it's no coincidence that he is initially depicted as a jerk; when he finally does come around, it is a major piece of character development that is essential to the story despite having ultimately no practical effect). It was about saving mankind from both the monsters at its door, and humanity's own dysfunction. All of the major characters and pilots come from different countries (the USA, Australia, Russia, China, Germany, the UK, and Japan). Each of them brings with them the culture and history of their nation. And yet, despite all the obvious differences, they still come together to solve a mutual problem, without any of those differences ever becoming an issue. Even the Jaegers themselves represent this spirit of cooperation despite differences. Each one is clearly influenced by it's country of origin. Cherno Alpha is brutal and cold (a more Russian-looking robot you could not find). Crimson Typhoon is designed to evoke the honor and martial arts discipline of the Far East (and it's also red, in case you didn't notice). Striker Eureka is sleek, clean, new, and strong (representing an aesthetic that is beautiful, young, deceptively powerful, and simultaneously both European and not; just like Australia itself). Finally, we have the Gipsy Danger. Everything from the name and decals that harken back to WW2 fighter planes, to the big guns, to the down-to-earth "no style, just substance" street fighting, to the subtle confidence in the way it walks, to the very nuclear heart engine that puts power above all other considerations, everything about the Gipsy Danger is meant to evoke the American ideal of cool. And yet, despite them all being so different, the Jaegers fight together for the same cause. It is only when they don't life up to this ideal that they begin losing. When Cherno Alpha and Crimson Typhoon go to battle without the aid of Striker Eureka or Gipsy Danger, the Kaiju defeat them by virtue of superior cooperation. When Striker Eureka finally joins the battle, it is itself defeated because it fought alone against two Kaiju (one of whom had a weapon specifically designed to take down digital Jaegers). Had Striker Eureka had another Jaeger on his side (one that, say, had it's own set of skills that included being analog), that battle would have gone very differently. And it is only when the two Kaiju separate that Gipsy Danger appears to save the day. And it does so on the coattails of Raleigh and Mako's cooperation (while exploiting the Kaiju's sudden lack thereof). Fast forward to the final battle. Despite the odds being much worse (two category 4 Kaiju and a category 5 against only Gipsy Danger and Striker Eureka) and a disadvantageous tactical situation, the Jaegers were able to prevail (if only just). Why? Because they brought their individual skills together to fight for everyone. None of this is coincidence. It's symbolism. Ultimately, however, it is the drift system itself that most perfectly represents the spirit of cooperation that inhabits this movie (and not coincidentally, makes it a huge hit overseas, but not so much in the more isolationist USA). The drift system represents in the most pure sense imaginable the idea of individual human beings putting aside their differences to achieve something greater than either could hope to do on their own. Together, Raleigh and his brother fought circles around Knifehead. Alone, Raleigh struggled to mount even the most basic of defenses. When Raleigh and Mako allowed their individual problems and psychological baggage to get between them, it nearly destroyed the shatterdome. But by coming together and facing their problems together, they were able to overcome them, despite neither of them having been able to do so alone in all the years they tried. Herc Hansen disconnected from the drift equipment for but a second, and that second broke his arm. Finally, Stacker Pentecost was able to successfully drift with Chuck Hensen without any testing or practice, simply because he brings no ego or personal problems with him into the drift (while Chuck had no problems because he and his father came to an understanding, allowing him to break down any barriers he might have had to doing what needed to be done). As the movie goes on, all of the major characters become more dedicated to cooperation, and it makes them stronger. It is these exceptional individuals who hold out hope that by working together, mankind can beat the unbeatable, and in so doing save itself from both the monsters without, and the monsters within. And that is why, where all other plans to deal with the Kaiju fail, our heroes succeed. Category:Blog posts